First Impressions
by GhostlyMayhem
Summary: Meta Knight gives the king's new assistant a warning about his new job. Can be seen as either a Meta Knight/Escargoon romance, or friendship. One-shot, pre-series.


**...**

**First Impressions**

**...**

"You must be the new guy."

Escargoon gasped, startled by the sudden voice from behind. In his fright, he accidentally knocked over his suitcase, sending it toppling off his bed. He spun around to face the person who had spoken. He was surprised by who was standing at the door—a small, round puffball with a mask and cape, two piercing yellow eyes staring back at him. A mysterious demeanor that didn't completely phase the snail. He placed his hand over his chest, trying to steady his racing heart. "Jeez, you scared me!"

The star warrior simply stared at the snail. "I... apologize for the sudden intrusion."

Escargoon took a deep breath, bending down to pick up his suitcase. "No, it's fine... I'm just a little jumpy today, I guess." Placing the suitcase back on the bed, he moved closer toward the knight. "You must be Meta Knight." _Mama always told me to be polite._ He held out his hand, a smile forming over his face. "I'm Escargoon, the king's new assistant. It's nice to meet you."

Meta Knight continued staring up at him, not moving to shake the outstretched hand. When Escargoon got the message and slowly—awkwardly—lowered his hand, the star warrior spoke. "You're not from around here," he pointed out, matter-of-factly.

"You mean Cappy Town?" Escargoon gave a nod. "Yeah, I'm not from here. In fact, I've never even been to Cappy Town before... Heck, I've never really been anywhere... It's all so... new to me. It wasn't easy getting this job, but I'm sure it'll get better from here. After all, I've only been in town for a short time, and today is my first day in the castle."

Meta Knight noticed a flicker of curiosity and wonder in the snail's emerald green eyes. Escargoon sounded oddly... positive, as though the snail had no idea just _who_ he was exactly working for. "Has the king been..." he almost wasn't sure how to choose his next words. "..._kind_ to you?"

Escargoon pursed his lips, deep in thought as he recounted his earlier, first encounter with King Dedede. "Honestly... he does seem a bit... on edge... but I'm sure he probably just had a bad day! I know I can be a bit grumpy when I have a bad day. He'll probably be better tomorrow." He smiled at the last past, as though he truly believed that the king's noticeable irritation with him was just a phase that would surely pass by the end of the day.

_If only he knew..._ Meta Knight couldn't help but feel even the smallest form of pity for the king's new assistant. "Do you know what happened to King Dedede's last assistant?"

Escargoon blinked. "...No... I don't... Did he get fired?"

"He quit after the first week."

"Oh." Escargoon shrugged, not bothered by this fact. "Well, I'm sure he had his reasons for leaving."

Meta Knight studied the cheerful snail, the tiniest hint of sympathy creeping up on him. _He just doesn't know..._ "His reasons for leaving might soon be your reasons, I'm afraid."

The naive snail tiled his head like a curious child. "What do you mean?"

The amount of reasons was almost overwhelming, and Meta Knight was not one to share a lot of words, especially with a stranger. Despite feeling pity for the king's new assistant, he decided to leave it at a few words. "...All I can say, is that if you manage to last through the week... You will prove a lot of people wrong." He paused. "Many of the Cappies believe you won't even last a day."

Escargoon bit his lip, unsure whether to feel offended by what the Cappies were expecting of him or not. Still... He didn't understand what this all had to do with King Dedede, but he had a feeling... especially when he put two and two together. If the last assistant quit after a week, that must have meant that the king wasn't a grump just _that_ day—it meant the penguin was like that _everyday._ "...So... he's..._ always_ like that?"

Meta Knight gave a nod. "Worse than what you just saw. He's cold, cruel and rude, and if I were you... I would just leave now."

"But I'm sure there's a reason for it!" Escargoon protested. "No one is cruel for no reason. He must have had something happen to him as a kid or something, because—"

Meta Knight interrupted the snail. "Some people are just plain cruel. Hopefully you start to realize that... you seem like a highly intelligent snail. I'm sure you'll figure that out soon enough." The star warrior turned on his heel and began to head toward the open bedroom door. He stopped mid-stride, just under the door frame. "...I'm confident you will be able to handle the king just fine." Silently he left, leaving the baffled snail standing in his new room, thinking over Meta Knight's words.

Meta Knight himself wasn't exactly sure if there was any truth to his own words... In reality, _nobody_ could handle King Dedede and his obvious anger issues. But there was something about the snail—despite his innocent, somewhat vulnerable and naive appearance—that made Meta Knight wonder if his words rang true. Would the snail be able to handle King Dedede on his own? Perhaps. Or would it be a matter of time before Escargoon completely gave up and left the castle for good?

_Well,_ Meta Knight thought as he calmly walked down the long empty hallway. _It's always that one person everybody doubts who triumphs in the end. Maybe he will prove the Cappies wrong._

He certainly hoped so.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Escargoon... He was probably so cheerful and positive when he first came to Cappy Town, only to eventually become so cynical. It's sad. DX**

**Yup, this can be seen as either a Meta Knight/Escargoon romance (though there is no romance in this one-****shot**) or a friendship between them. This takes place during their first meeting when Escargoon first came to the castle. So... Yeah. I don't know what to say, except I love this pairing. X3

**Please review if you liked this! If you don't like this pairing, don't review. Okay? Simple? Good :D**


End file.
